Apple macOS 10.13.4 renders key third-party display products useless

Thousands of Mac users are crying foul at Apple following the release of macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 having rendered key third-party display products and services useless. Particularly, neither DisplayLink docking products nor the Duet Display Mac app are working in this latest version.

A DisplayLink product manager responded to complaints on its own support forums, confirming that macOS 10.13.4 is to blame for the error, and that it’s working on a fix. This update specifically renders the display capabilities of its docks inert, while other functions remain unaffected.

“In the meantime, we are releasing a new driver [4.3] that will enable clone mode, but not mirror or extended mode displays in 10.13.4,” the product manager writes. “If you require mirror or extended mode displays, we recommend that you stay on macOS 10.13.3 at this time.”

iPad extended displays aren’t working either

Meanwhile, Duet Display – a $19.99 (£9.99) Mac App store program that, for another 20 bucks a month, can act as your Mac’s second display via Lightning cable – isn’t working either. Following the macOS 10.13.4 update, the Duet client app hangs without starting.

Duet Display developer Duet Inc. is advising its customers to refrain from upgrading to the latest macOS so as to avoid the issue, according to MacRumors, as well as contact Apple directly through its bug reporting features.

Worse off is that desktop extension apps, like Air Display and iDisplay, are also reportedly experiencing related issues, also according to MacRumors. The website also cites speculation in said discussions around these issues that Apple’s eGPU support in the operating system update is to blame.

As far as we can tell, it doesn't seem like macOS 10.13.4 has affected external display connected directly to MacBooks through mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt.

We’ve contacted Apple for comment and will update this story should we receive a response.

Regardless, it’s wise to avoid updating to macOS 10.13.4 if you use any of the aforementioned products or apps to extend your Mac’s display. If you already updated when Apple released the version last week, you can revert to the previous version of macOS using the Time Machine feature – that is, assuming you backed up before updating. Which, you did, right?

• Here’s everything we hope for from macOS 10.14

Via SlashDot

April 04, 2018 at 08:36PM
Joe Osborne